I’m so sick of winter. The cold weather, the endless snow, the harsh winds – I just can’t take it anymore. To combat these winter blues, I’ve started looking ahead and planning my spring crafts. In my search for warm and sunny projects, I’ve found that the common denominator is always light, soft colors. Pastels might not be springing up in nature quite yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them right this second in your craft projects.

Whether you love yarn or prefer fabric crafts, there are plenty of pastel projects to brighten your day. An Eyelet Parfait Afghan is soft and cuddly, making it a fantastic baby shower gift. The light and breezy eyelet design makes it perfect for any time of year. Best of all, this afghan is a gender-neutral pattern, so it’s perfect for new mommies who are waiting to find out the sex of her baby. If you want to crochet something awesome but don’t have the time of energy to complete an afghan, make a Pastel Brooch instead. You can pin it on an otherwise boring outfit during the winter months and add a touch of fun and excitement. Be prepared for compliments! If you’re not comfortable working with yarn and a hook, channel spring with Burst of Color Fabric Flowers. My suggestion? Save big on supplies by using scraps of fabric and leftover beads.

It’s time to rebel against winter and start looking forward. You won’t believe how little pops of color can really change the look and feel of a project. The bight and pretty pastels will put you in a good mood and make you excited for all that is to come in 2014. Just don’t get too excited – according to the groundhog, we’re still in for a long and dramatic winter.

It’s finally spring here in Illinois and I’m excited to share the seasonal projects with you. My first craft idea was to dress up some lampshades that I’ve had for about six years. They were originally meant to be displayed in my daughter’s room, but we went in a different direction. Since IKEA has great prices, we decided to hold on to them until inspiration struck.

My daughter and I get to visit American Girl a couple times a year and have either tea or lunch there. Well, our first time in the cafe, I was totally floored by the decor. They had these giant lampshades covered in hot pink and black flowers. STUNNING, I tell you. I turned to her and said “We’re going to make something like this.” So here we go!

Materials:

Plain lampshades

Hot glue gun

Silk flowers

Instructions:

First off wipe down your lampshades with a damp cloth. Mine were a little dusty from being stored for a few years.

Next, move on to prepping your flowers. Pull each flower off the stem and snip the flower as flat as possible. This will make it easier when gluing them to the shade. You’ll end up with a giant pile of flowers.

All you do next is take your time adding about a quarter size of hot glue on the back of one flower at a time and holding it in place on the lampshade until it’s cooled enough to stay on its own. I did both shades this way and it took about an hour since you have to hold them for a few seconds. I ended up with a fun finished project.

These will finally get hung in her room. I haven’t decided whether to light them or not since the flower and glue would get hot. We may go with an LED bulb so the heat wouldn’t be an issue.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Colorful Spring Crafts Blog Hop this month! We challenged you to share your best spring projects with the FaveCrafts community and we randomly selected one winner to receive a mention and direct link in an upcoming FaveCrafts newsletter as well as an amazing prize package!

Voting ends Thursday March 21st at 12:59 p.m. and a winner will be announced on Friday – be sure to cast your vote before it’s too late. Also, share the Blog Hop post so all of your crafty friends can vote for their favorite crafts, too!

Welcome to the FaveCrafts Blog Hop, where you get to showcase your work! What did you make this month? Show us your favorite spring-themed craft blog post from the month, or make something and write it up just for the occasion! We want to see your crochet and knit projects, sewing ideas, holiday decorations and home decor, kids’ crafts, and more!

This month we’re going to pick one project to feature in a newsletter! We’ll show off your beautiful spring project and link directly to your blog as a way of thanking you for contributing! This person will also receive a craft prize pack filled with books, scrapbook supplies and more!

The linky list will be open for one week, until Sunday, March 15, 2012 at 11:59 PM. Get your links in by then for a chance to be featured. The winner will also be announced here on the FaveCrafts Blog and on Facebook.

How to Participate:

Create or find a blog post on your own site that showcases your spring projects. In the post, you can talk about the crafting process, write up a tutorial, or merely show off the finished project.

Add your link to this post by clicking on “Add your link” at the bottom of the screen and following the instructions. Make sure you link to your specific blog post, not your homepage, and give it a caption.

Remember to copy the FaveCrafts Blog Hop button from below and paste it into your blog post, linked to this FaveCrafts Blog Hop post, so that everyone who reads your blog can see that you’ve been featured on FaveCrafts!

The Link List will close at 11:59 PM CST on March 15, at which point no new links can be entered.

**Don’t have a craft project for this Blog Hop but want to be notified via email about future events? Sign up for our blogger list and we will let you know when the next Blog Hop is up so you can join the fun!

When it comes to autumn decor, nothing captures the season’s essence better than seasonal fruits. Fall fruits include: apples, pears, blackberries, grapes, plums, figs, raspberries and blueberries. Within the list I just mentioned lies the basic color palette for all of your fall decorating needs.

Apple – bold reds and greens

Pears and Grapes – blushed reds and yellow-greens

Blackberries and Plums – deep purples and auburn reds

Figs – Burnt oranges and reds

Raspberries – Bright reds

Blueberries – deep blues

Using the color palette of fall fruits, you can come up with some pretty amazing fall decor that will transform your home into a cozy autumn getaway. If you want to incorporate the actual fruit into your creations, it is suggested that you use artificial fruit that you can buy at the local craft store in the seasonal section. For a basic apple and berry wreath, incorporate the bold reds and greens from the color palette, along with deep blue from blueberries or purple from blackberries. Be creative and see what you can come up with.

Berry Apple Wreath

You will need:

2 Styrofoam wreaths

Reindeer moss (to cover styrofoam)

Artificial apples and berries, approximately 60 apples and 14 bunches of berries

Toothpicks

Florist Wire

Floral Pins

Wire Cutters

Craft Glue

Steps:

Glue smaller foam wreath on top of larger wreath and allow to thoroughly dry.

Glue moss covering front and back of assembled wreath.

Use wire cutters to cut floral picks into 2″ lengths.

Apply glue to one end of a wooden pick and insert it into center bottom of an apple. Repeat for each apple.

Apply glue to other end of pick and insert it into outside edge of wreath. Repeat to glue apples side by side in a row around outside circumference (see photo).

Continue alternating circles of apples and berries on wreath, ending with apples at inside center.

Bend 10″ length of florist wire in half and twist ends together. Insert ends of wire into top center back of wreath to form a hanger. Secure hanger by inserting floral pins into foam over ends of twisted wires.

I came across a blog called Raw Food Crafting that isn’t related to the kind of crafting that we do, but you must check out the fruit photos they’ve posted, because this is what I mean by crafting with rich colors.

Or how about these pears I found featured on DudeCraft that are shaped like little Buddhas – literally grown that way, incredible!

You may also want to consider making your own artificial fruit for your fruit-bearing craft projects like this faux fruit craft at FamilyFun.com.

If you’re a proponent of natural beauty, try your hand at crafting with fruit and fruity colors this fall season to really capture the essence of the season.

Full Project Tutorials

If you’re like me, you love the holiday season. Why? Because it gives you an excuse to craft gifts, decorations – and best of all – make your own gingerbread houses! Last year, my husband and I decided that we would have a little competition between us and his sister. The task? Build the best, […]